TRP: Goro and Sugar (Slap)
Setting Directly after the Diva/Mishka confrontation. Goro sits in the room where Ripley rested, the smallest one in the corner. It's usually empty-- but the bedspread is rumpled now, and the bed is empty. Amari is gone, comforting Roddy and the others and offering them healing. Goro has not moved in an hour. Quietly, there is a jangling sound, and barefoot footsteps. Sugar steps into the room. Her eyes are puffy. She scrubs her hand across her face, then touches Goro on the shoulder. Lina: Goro still doesn't move. He continues staring at the ceiling. Coyote: Sugar's eyes sting. She wonders where Mishka is and where he's gone. She thinks about asking Goro if he knows; Goro seems smart. Instead, she shuts the door, then sits down cross-legged on the floor. She's wearing a white dress again today, but it's dirty at the hem. "Goro?" she says. "Did, um. Did the... did her being inside your head... hurt you? Can you... talk still?" Lina: He doesn't say anything for a long time. He blinks a few times, and tears slip out of the corners of his eyes, sliding down his temples. "No. She... can't hurt me. Not like that." Coyote: Sugar swallows. She shakes her hands out nervously. Then-- daringly, because no one else is around-- she scouts closer, then gives Goro a tight hug. He seems uninjured and she can't tell what's wrong with him. "Mishka's gone," she says. Her voice hurts coming out. "Can you, um. Say you-- say you're okay?" She really needs him to be okay. "Are you h-hurt or just upset?" Mishka and Goro are the only friends she has and Mishka is gone and Goro is broken. Lina: Goro lets her hold him for a moment, then squirms out of her grasp, rolls over to face the wall, and sobs into his hands. "I'm sorry. It's my fault." Then he furiously attempts to wipe his face dry, and turns toward her again. She's hurt he pulled away from her, so he grabs her hand. "You're safe, though. She can't make me hurt you. Not... not directly." Coyote: Mishka can hurt her. And Ripley, who is gone. She doesn’t say that, though. She swallows, her throat still tight. “Okay, but.” She thinks of what to say. It isn’t Goro’s fault. “What happened?” She says. “The others said Mishka was.... hosted now, like you warned Mishka about when you— came over. How’d it— get in his mouth?” Lina: His eyes take on that hard look they get sometimes. The one that says there's nothing that can hurt him or scare him. He leans in close and looks straight at her. "I put it there. Me." Coyote: Her eyes widen, and she leans back a little. "W-why?" Lina: The hard look is gone already. He rubs irritably at his face, hating that tight, salty feel on his skin. "She made me. I could see it happening. I could still see and hear and feel everything, but I couldn't stop her. I couldn't move. Only she could move me." Thinking of it again makes his skin crawl. The worst kind of violation. Why the fuck did he ever think it would be tolerable, no matter what she chose to do with it? "But I asked for it," he says. "I made a deal with her." He smiles, though he looks a little sick. "I'm a greedy, greedy man. Was it worth it, do you think?" Coyote: She feels sick. She wraps her arms around her legs and blinks back tears. He's being frightening. This isn't like him. She looks at the door. She could just.... go. She doesn't want to, though. Goro isn't okay yet. He keeps rubbing his face and looking distant. There's still tears streaming down his face, though, but he doesn't even seem aware of it anymore. He's smiling sickly like nothing is wrong. She gets up and she locks the door so no one else can come in. Then she digs around in her pocket and takes out a white handkerchief with gold trim. She reaches over like she's touching a wounded animal. Very carefully. Very slowly. And wipes the edge of his face with it, seeing if it's okay to touch him. Lina: He freezes at first. But then he closes his eyes, and lets her dry his face. "You should leave," he whispers. "You're a good person, Sugar. You shouldn't be in here." Coyote: Her hands bunch in her dress. "Are you going to hurt me?" Lina: He opens his eyes. "I won't lay a fucking hand on you. But there's other ways to hurt people, without even trying." Coyote: He won't lay a fucking hand on her, he says. Sugar folded her legs again. She continues wiping his face, pushing just a little magical power through it to make the wet cloth cold. "I don't see how you could," she says. "You're mostly just... sitting here and crying. I, um. Killed a rat the other day? By spiking it right through the ship. I could do that with you too, you know. Hansel said I shouldn't do those things in the ship, though." I wish you were okay, she thinks. She puts the handkerchief down. She folds it up precisely in her pocket. "What do you want me to do?" she says, quietly, eyes downcast. "If you... tell me to do something, I'll do it." Lina: He almost laughs. He thinks on it for a while. "Make sure Amari's okay. No--no, I know she's not okay. But make sure she eats, and sleeps. And gets some fresh air. And tell her..." He shakes his head. He won't meet Sugar's eyes anymore. "How could I hurt you? Shit. You know, I love Amari more than anyone in this piece of shit world, and look what I just did to her. What I did to the person she loves most. And you..." Then he does laugh, briefly, hysterically. "Fuck, Sugar, I don't know. Maybe next time she takes me over, I'll throw your cats overboard." Coyote: Sugar doesn't budge. "You've been teaching me to swim," she says. "Because you're nice. I'll go get them." Lina: "I don't think you fucking get it. I am not nice. I do favors for people so I can get things back from them later. That's the kind of person I am. I'm a fucking bastard. Not that I'd expect you to know. You're living on a stolen pirate ship with a bunch of thieves and murderers and you think it's a fucking vacation. You were kidnapped and it took you, what, a week to realize you weren't on a goddamn cruise? Sugar, I'm doing you a favor here. I'm a bad person. Stay away from me. You should stay away from all of us, this Guild--well I guess we're not a guild anymore, now we're just a gang. Go find some good people to spend your time with. You need some tips on identification? I'll tell you, and you can write them in your fucking notebook." Coyote: Sugar's face turned bright pink, hot, and humiliated. She raised her hand to slap him, then, angrily, felt her eyes well up instead. She felt fucking stupid. She dropped her hand. She fumbled with the handkerchief, then dropped it. God, she was so fucking dumb. Fumbling with it probably made her look even more stupid. She went to the door, unlocked it, left, and slammed it behind her. The handkerchief lay on the floor, left behind, crumpled, no longer neatly folded. Lina: Goro stared at the handkerchief. He felt like his insides were being ripped to shreds. She'd almost slapped him, and stopped herself. Why the hell hadn't she just ice spiked him through the wall? That would've been the most satisfying. Oh, because Mishka told her not to do that kind of thing on the ship. Of course. Mishka. Mishka. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Goro reached down to grab the handkerchief as he pushed off the bed and ran for the door. "I'm sorry," he said as he ran up behind her. He wasn't even thinking. He grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Fuck, he said he wouldn't touch her. He let go and backed away. Coyote: Sugar stiffened, white-hot-cold with fury. She whirled around. She slapped him, a hard crack across the face. Her hand stung. Lina: Oh. Wow. That was well-earned. He touched his fingers to his face and blinked. Coyote: She felt fucking stupid, still. But she flung her arms around his neck, pressed her face into his shoulder and chest, and burst into tears. Lina: He held her tight, almost rested his chin on her head, then made himself look up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry," he said again. And again. He was losing his fucking mind. He pulled one arm back and tried to wipe her face with the handkerchief. It wasn't gentle and sweet, like when she'd done it. More like awkward mashing. Coyote: She just kind of clung to him for a while, face buried in his shoulder. "I'm getting your shirt wet," she said blearily. She hated crying in public. She could hear people upstairs. Her mom always said not to let people see her crying. Lina: "Who gives a shit," he said. That was too harsh. He was trying to tone down the bastard thing, he'd decided. "I mean, I don't care. Get it as wet as you need, I've got others." END Category:Text Roleplay Category:Goro Category:Sugar